Epics in Imprints-1.pdf - Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan

So does the ocean of milk.
But one person never sleeps; who is he?
(Breath)
Ramakatha in the Tribal and Folk
Traditions of India
K.S. Singh
1) Ramakatha is prevalent among the
tribes of Rajasthan and of the Nimad
region of Madhyapradesh. In this tradition
Sita was born in a year of drought, a victim
of drought like any other tribal child. The
golden deer was to be killed for its flesh, a
typical tribal need at the behest of Sita.
2) Chattisgarh, Western Orissa (South
Kosala) areas boast of Bondo, Baiga, Gaur
versions of Ramakatha. The traditions
have been localized here. To invoke rains
in a dry year Rishyashringa yagna is
performed here.
3) Bihar’s Bhils in their Bhilodi Ramayana,
believe that Rama during his 14 year exile,
conferred upon them their occupation of
trapping and approved their food habits.
4) The Mundas diffused, readapted and
recreated the Ramayana in their own
fashion. They spread the story among the
Austro-Asiatic language speaking
communities. They believe Sita was found
under the plough, she was a tribal girl,
grazing goat and was whisked away by
Ravana.
5) The Avadhi and Bhojpuri folk songs
feature Rama Katha with a woman’s
sympathy for Sita in her hour of grief and
misfortune.
6) The episode of the squirrel forms the
bridge between Northern and Southern
folk regions. In south, Sita is a devi who
has not even been touched by Ravana.
Rama is god incarnate who can do no
wrong. Southern versions have the unique
Mahiravana story. Similar to Mizo versions,
Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada
folk versions have a lot of common features
and episodes.
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FEBRUARY - AUGUST 2003
(From Ramakatha in Tribal and Folk
traditions of India Anthropological survey
of India; Seagull books, Calcutta 1993)
VALIDITY OF THE RAMAYANA VALUES
Sukumari Bhattacharji
1) Popular religions teach ethical values
to the masses through stories – epics. One
should behave as Rama did and not as
Ravana.
2) National epics present eternal
humanistic values through aesthetically
convincing characters; people see these
values, are impressed with their truth and
subconsciously emulate them. Valmiki
after bursting forth into an inspired stanza
asks Narada “Who answers to this
catalogue of high moral values?” Narada
says “Not even among gods do I find one
endowed with all these virtues. Hear of the
great man who has all these virtues!” So
the hero is not a god, but a man, for only
a man could become a convincing ethical
model. The Ramayana performs this task
by creating a set of convincing characters,
placing them in complex, critical
situations, and by presenting moral acts
together with their causes and effects.
What enhances the value of the epic is
that, in it there is no character totally good
or totally evil. Even the best three
characters, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana,
behave questionably at times. Also the
characters look true to life, because there
is no major or sudden change of heart,
although in many instances they do
change. The adult attitude of accepting the
fact that people seldom, if ever, undergo
radical moral change renders the epic
aesthetically acceptable and prevents it
from being merely romantic or juvenile.
3) Temptation is a crisis situation, and all
major characters face real temptations; it
is through their response to them that they
become or remain good or bad.
Transgression from the accepted code of